DHS, Social Networks and Emergency AwarenessJanuary 2012: (Hat tip to PolicyMic. A recent report out from Reuters outlined the current ongoing program at the Department of Homeland Security to monitor social networks with the intention of collecting "information used in providing situational awareness and establishing a common operating picture". The networks include Twitter, Facebook, Hulu, Wikileaks as well as sites like Drudge Report, Huffington Post and others.

LTE and emergency responseJanuary 2012: Last Year, Broadcast Engineering reported that the FCC had "approved a proposal that will require LTE technology to be used for public safety mobile broadband networks used by first responders." The technology, commonly called 4G, is now being tested by emergency responders, technology companies and other groups for its interoperability capabilities. In Florida, for instance, Verizon Wireless has rolled out a $205 million 4G LTE wireless network in 14 markets.

Promoting Local Low Powered Community RadioJanuary 2012: Almost one year ago exactly, the Obama administration signed into law the "Local Community Radio Act" which allowed smaller community radio stations the ability to broadcast to their communities. At the forefront of the push to give greater radio access to communities is the Prometheus Radio Project. Their efforts help to create local communities of radio broadcasters which could help to disseminate information quickly in the event of a disaster.

January 2011: When Jared Lee Loughner opened fire killing six people during a Congressional meet and greet in Tucson on January 8 , citizens present at the gathering were instrumental in tackling and disarming the gunman thus preventing any more casualties. According to the Arizona Republic, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik identified the three men and one woman as Patricia Maisch, Roger Salzgeber, Bill Badger and Joseph Zamudio. The official timeline of the response said the first 911 call was received at 10:11:56 a.m. "Within one minute of the first deputy's arrival, the suspect was in custody and medical personnel began treating the injured," the Pima County Sheriff's Department said in a press release.

Ms. Maisch was able to grab the bottom of Loughner's magazine which prevented him from reloading his gun when he ran out of bullets. Then Mr. Salzgeber and Badger tackled the gunman and held him until the deputies arrived, meanwhile, Mr. Zamudio was able to hold Loughner's legs. While the four Arizonans were working to keep Loughner down until the police arrived, an aide to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was working to keep the wounded lawmaker alive.

Daniel Hernandez told CNN Giffords was "alert and conscious, but she wasn't able to speak, so the way she was communicating was by grabbing my hand and squeezing." Giffords had been shot in the head at point blank range. The cable news organization reported that local Safeway employees responded to the emergency by bringing out a "clean smock from the meat department to cover Giffords' wound until the paramedics arrived."

In a statement released Monday the 10th, Safeway officials said they were providing grief counselors to employees "affected by this tragedy." Also, the local radio station KVOA has provided a GoogleMap with information over-layed to show the events. The New York Times has posted an interactive page of the six people killed and 14 wounded. Among those killed were a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl who was born on September 11, 2001.

The Midwest Summit Police Chiefs Association met May 3rd and 4th in LaCrosse, Wisconsin to develop public/private partnerships that augment and multiply community preparedness, response and recovery capabilities. NCORP joined the Summit to incorporate the output of the May 3rd Summit sessions into the National Blueprint for Secure Communities. Click Hereto download the draft draft preliminary report of the Summit.

August 10, 2006...Code Red for international flights to the U.S. originating in the UK: Code Orange for commerical U.S. domestic flights; Code Yellow for the U.S.

July 7, 2005...Code Orange for metropolitan transportation and rail systems

January 18, 2005...Code Yellow is in effect

Why Your Membership in ReadyCorps Will Help Strengthen Homeland Security

September 11, 2001 has not only changed the way communities view their preparation and response to crisis, but also redefined the role that citizens and corporations have in helping their communities prepare for and respond to threat and crisis. Though local, state and federal governments are responsible at one level or another, there just are not enough resources to protect all communities and property at all times, nor to respond equally or quickly. The threat and the country are too open and large.

ReadyCorps' Role

The National Council on Readiness and Preparedness has formed ReadyCorps to bring corporations together with communities, responders and governments to increase community surge capacity during incidents of mass casualty or destruction. ReadyCorps members will establish a corporate Crisis Response Officer (CRO) for each corporate facility, to serve as a contact point between responders and corporations to share information and assets, create preparedness response strategies and generally develop simple but effective ways to train and prepare employees for threat or crisis as resources to the responder sector during community response.